Life jacket



Nov. 16, 1948. R. E. COOMBS ETAL LIFE JACKET Filed May 26, 1945 ROBERTE. coo/was ROGER 0. HALE amw Patented Nov. 16, 1948 UNITED STATES IPATENT OFFICE Robert E. Coombs and-BogerC; Hal

United. States Coast-Guard Application May; 26, 1945, Serial No..596,069 4. Claims. (ore-) lfiranted unselthe act of March 3, 1883, as

This invention relates to life preserversand more particularlytoreversible life jackets adapted to be worn on the. upper part of thebody to support the wearer in an upright slightly backwardly inclinedposition when in the water.

Life jackets using kapok as the buoyant element, now required to be wornby all thoseaboard ships in wartime, mustxbe provided-with means forgrasping and lifting. the wearer when he is in the water in order to.facilitate the, rescue of such wearer, particularly when exhausted byreason of exposure or injury. Life jackets without such means cannot beeasily. grasped, and as rescue operations are invariably carried out inoil covered waters, the jackets become slippery and easily slidefrom thegrasp of the rescuers with a consequent loss of life.

As these jackets are bulky, they must be removed by the wearer in theperformance of some shipboard duties. Others remove the jacketssurreptitiously because their bulk makes them uncomfortable to wearcontinuously. In emergencies it is therefore necessary that some personsmust quickly don the jackets and as it is done amid considerableconfusion and excitement, it is mandatory that the jacket beof simpledesign and one that may be put on with either side out. 7 Y

The best lifting means for a life jacket, takin into consideration suchfactors as simplicity, safety, cost and ease of manufacture, is abeltadapted to be fastened around the wearer.

In those jacketsheretofore used, one method of producing reversibilitythereof is effected by providing two belts attached to opposite sides ofthe jacket so that one thereof would-be outermost regardless ofwhichside was placed next to the wearer. This arrangement isunsatisfactoi'y for several reasons. First, when the jacket is worn, thefree ends of, the belt on the inside of the jacket hang below the. loweredge. of the jacket. and tend to catch in doors, ladders, machinery,etc. Second, the free ends ofv the two belts become tangled witheachother making the jacket difficult to put on and fasten with the result that the wearerivsulurga oi' 'e'rboard without having the beltfastened over his jacket. Once the water it is difficult tountanglathebelts and fasten the outermost therec'if in position, particularly ifthe water is cold. Third, the use of two belts increases the materialrequired and the number of manufacturing operations involved, bothimportant factors as life preservers are now produced by the millioneach year. The other method, wherein one belt has been used amendedApril 30, 1928;-.3.70 0. G. 757) 2 with means making it accessible forplacing it around the outside of the jacket regardless of which side isoutermost, said means bein in the formlof apertures in the body of thejacket under the arm holes; and through which the ends of the belt pass,increases the cost of manufacture by reasons of" the increase inoperations required, since each aperturemustbecut and a buttonholestitch, or the like, applied thereto to prevent raveling.

It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide a reversiblelife jacket with a simplified means for affixing a unitary liftin beltthereto.

A further-object of this invention is to attach a unitary lifting meansto a reversible life jacket by utilizin the armholes thereof.

A further object of this invention is to mount a single lifting belt toa reversible life jacket so that the ends thereof project into the armholes of the jacket' to. permit it to be placed over the front of thejacket regardless of which side is outermost.

"In the accompanying drawings illustrating the present preferredembodiment of the invention, Fig. l is a plan view of the life jacketshowing the arrangement of the lifting belt. while Fig. 2 is a sectionalview of the life jacket shown in Fig. 1 taken along the line 2-2.

Referring to the drawings, the body of the jacket comprises two piecesof drill Ill and H, one; for either side, of the general configurationshown in Fig. 1, and having arm holes [2 and I3 out therein. The piecesl0 and H are sewn around thei outer edges and around the arm holes toform a cover of double thickness. The cover. is-dividedsinto threevertical pockets [4, l5. and. 16. by seams, I11 and- !8 running betweenthe toppf thearmholeslz and i3 and the upper edgeof the cover, and seamsl9 and 2t! at the sides connecting. the bottom of the arm holes and thelower edge ofthe cover. That part otthe coyerfforming pocket. I 5comprises the back of theljacket when worn while that portion formingpockets. .Mfland I5 is adapted to fold around the front'of the wearer toform the front of the jacket. This cover is treated withasuitablemateriall to render. it fireproof. Removable kapok pads 21, 22'and23 are inserted in their respectivepocketapads 2i and 23being visiblethrough broken away portions of the cover. Pad 22 is about one-half thelength of pads 2| and 23 and is designed to fit the upper half of pocket[5 while the other pads extend the full length of the pockets l4 and I6.Stitching 24, connecting the two pieces I0 and II and running across theback pocket from a point adjacent the lower part of the arm holes,serves to retain the pad 22 in position in the pocket 15. A hem 25 inthe lower edge of the jacket carries a drawstring 26 for fastening thejacket around the waist of the wearer. Ties 21, attached to the upperedge of the jacket, are provided to permit fastening the jacket at thethroat of the wearer.

The lifting means whereby the wearer may be grasped either by hand, orby a boat hook, comprises a belt 28 adapted to be fastened around thejacket. This belt is placed between the pieces of drill l and l lcomprising the jacket cover in the pocket l just below and parallel tothe stitching 24 and is securely stitched to the cover as indicated bystitching 29. The belt 28 extends horizontally across the back of thejacket between the lower adjacent edges of the arm holes l2 and i3 intowhich the ends of the belt pass. The cover and belt are stitchedtogether at the arm holes to fix the belt with respect to the armholesin order that the ends of the belt may be held in a position easilyaccessible to the wearer of the jacket. The belt 28 is provided withsuitable means for fastening the same over the front of the jacket, suchas a buckle 30.

From the foregoing description it is readily seen that it is immateria1which side of the jacket is outermost when donned. If the belt endshappen to be on the outside of the jacket then it is merely necessary tograsp the same and buckle the belt over the front of the jacket. If thebelt ends happen to be on the inside of the jacket when it is on thewearer, he merely grasps the belt at the arm holes and pulls the endsthereoftherethrough and buckles them across the front of the jacket.

By this construction the belt 28 takes all of the strain when used tolift the wearer of the jacket from the water and consequently the jacketneed not be of special strength or construction. The arm holes I 2 andI3 may be larger than those ordinarily needed in life jackets tofacilitate the ease with which the belt 28 may be grasped and as thebelt is affixed to the edges of the arm holes they are always heldwithin easy reach of the wearer. v

While the belt has been shown as one continuous strip placed between thepieces ill and I I comprising the cover, it is obvious that it may besewn to the outside of either of the pieces H] and H in substantiallythe same position with respect to the arm holes l2 and i3. In thisconstruction the belt is aifixed across the back of the jacket in suchmanner as to enable it to be grasped at the back of the jacket, thusproviding an addiadjacent the arm hole, a construction permissible ifthe material of which the jacketis made is of suflicient strength tosupport the weight f the wearer.

While we have described the preferred form of our invention We do notwish to limit ourselves to the precise details as shown, but wish toavail ourselves of such variations and modifications as may come withinthe scope of the appended claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

We claim:

1. A life preserver comprising a vest, there being a pair of arm holesin said vest, a belt attached to the back of said vest and extendingfrom arm hole to arm hole and extending into said arm holes, the freeends of said belt adapted to be drawn through said arm holes whereby thesaid belt may be fastened around the outside of the vest regardless ofwhich side is outermost.

2. A reversible life preserver comprising a sleeveless jacketftherebeing arm holes at the sides of said jacket, a belt affixed across theback of said jacket between the lower portion of the said arm holes andterminating therein and through which the free ends of said belt may bedrawn, whereby said belt may be passed around the outside of the frontof said jacket regardless of which side is outermost.

3. A reversible life preserver vest comprising a cover of doublethickness, said cover being divided into two vertically extending frontpockets and a back pocket, there being arm holes between each of thefront pockets and the back pocket, bouyant material in the said frontpockets and in the upper part only of the said back pocket, a beltaffixed in the back pocket under the said buoyant material, the freeends of said belt attached to the periphery of said arm holes adjacentthe said back pocket whereby the said belt may be fastened around theoutside of the vest regardless of which side is outermost.

4. A reversible life preserver comprising a vest having a back therein,arm holes in said vest, a lifting belt, said belt fastened intermediateits ends across the back of said jacket from arm hole to arm hole, thesaid belt being attached to said jacket at said arm holes and passingtherethrough, whereby the free ends of said belt may be drawntherethrough and fastened around the outside of the remainder of saidvest regardless of which side is outermost.

ROBERT E. COOMBS.

ROGER C. HALE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 250,442 Hunt Dec. 6, 18811,160,252 Brokaw Nov. 16, 1915 1,536,627 Potter May 5, 1925 2,377,865Coombs June 12, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 517,994 FranceDec. 23, 1920

